Gday!

Gonna Get Vue7 Infinite soon! :)
I've got $10,000AUD to spend on getting a Godly PC To Render Animations FAST

Any onke Got Any Idea on Ram, Cpu prosessor (s) Hard drive I should be looking at getting to
Render Large Vue Scenes?

Thankz.

by the way Vue7 Infinite Imports poser Right? Don't need to get Vue xTream for the "intergration of programs.

Thankz.
:)

for 5k you could probably set up a render farm of 5 i7 pcs? puts on jealousy hat

RAM is the key as far as I can see with vue.
I'm running Vue 7.4 on a Quad core with 8 Gig RAM and an Nvidia 9000 series graphics card in an Antec gaming case to keep it all cool.
Vista Ultimate 64.
I can pretty much do what I want scene wise with all that power.
If you can throw money anywhere, throw it at the RAM

You might want to consider a Raid 5 array too, super safe.

Quote - for 5k you could probably set up a render farm of 5 i7 pcs? puts on jealousy hat

I figured $10K would get him a second-hand Cray :-)

Seriously, unless the Aussie currency has gone through the floor that's way too much money for what you need. As thefixer said, get as much RAM as the motherboard can take, also get a good fast processor, a 1Tb hard disk and a large monitor (or maybe two for a dual display). That's about it.

for that kind of money you could have maybe 3?? I7 rigs, work on one, render on othe two.

So I'd suggest isntead buying TWO PCs and TWO licences of Vue Infinite. THis way, you cna have both on same network, and use Vue on both, cause iirc, while you cna install VU eon more than 1 PC, it cannot be running on more than one at a time, unless you have extra licences (which is what I did with Vue6 infinite).

Running arendercow takes resources, much easier to work on a job, copy the file to toher PC, nad have it render, while allowing you to keep working on more scenes.

So I'd suggest the following rig, 2 of them:

Antec 1200 Gamer case (very cool airflow, damn good case)

I7 CPU, do NOT buy the biggest/baddest CPU in the range, get one that's low/mid end of range, because it's a pure rip off price for the latets CPU, it always is that way, the difference between the bottom and the top of the latest CPUs is not worth $500+!!!!

NVIDIA 9000 series video card, now, which one I can't say as it's so changing, get one with 1GB RAM though. More RAM is good, as it helps with VUE's opengl displays

ASUS P6 motherboard, there's several in the range, and again I cna't say which is "best", but an exepsnive motherboard IS a good purchase, well worth the cash for a good motherboard.

12 GIGs of DDR3 RAM. i7 CPUs use RAM in triplets, so 3x4 gig ram = 12 gigs, or you can go for less, or go for 9 gigs of RAM if you can find 3 GIG chips.
You don't need the super crazy expensive stuff, you cna pay crazy amount for special RAM but it's not worth it, god quality RAM is worht it, but you don't need theextra few percent a $1000 of RAM will give you, jeesh.
Vue loves RAM, lot sof RAM, so 9 or 12 GIGs = you can throw tons of content into a scene.

You need a good PSU, power supply units are crucuial, actually, a quiet, reliable one is very VERY nice. ALso, the ANtex case needs an extr along motherboard power lead, fyi.
Something around 600--700 Watts or so.

2 or 3 "one terabyte" hard drives. So you cna have ton of content storage. Don't bother with Flahs drives at the moment.

BlueRay burner for backups.

If you know someone who''s really a professional PC builder, and I relaly mean that, not some git who claims they are, you can have it water cooled. Water cooling is good, avoids os much damn dust etc, but, a screw up by an idiot can destroy yer PC completely!
Antec cases are designed for adding water cooling

BIG good quality monitors, 22 inch minimum form a good brand name liek Samsung, these REALLY help a lot, big difference between them and a basic non-branded monitor.

So, two PCs liek that will run you oh $2000 each?? then buy an Infinite licence for each so say maybe $6000, leaving you $4000, to either buy a 3rd or keep for emergencies if one of them breaks down.

Vista Ultimate on both a it comes with 64 bit version, free, fyi. Do NOT get Xp Pro 64 bit, it lacks drivers and is a dead duck. Vista 64 bti works great.

Building those kind of PCs is a major job, by the way.

As said, you will find it far more useful to have TWO, or more PCs with Vue on each, that you cna work on one, and run renders on the others as long as you like.
I have 2 PCs, but my 2nd one is mostly for gaming, as I couldn't afford another upgrade from 6 to 7 infinite AND upping that PC to 64 bit, it's only a 32 it rig so it couldn't handle my big scenes.

I'd suggets buying a spare PSU, and a spare trio of RAM chips at same time, as they are the items most likely to die on you at some point in the years ot come. But such a rig is likely to last for 3 or 4 years easily.

Do NOT overclock the CPU or graphics card, it's just not worth it. It cuts the life expectancy of your system, very severely possibly as I've known folk who's CPU/motherboard fried after a few months of overclocking it too much.

See this is the important thing to understand: spped of rendering on the one PC is not the be all and end all.
No use spending huge amount sof money or burning out a PC in months, when you cna find better ways to do things, such as using 2 or 3 PCs, etc! ;)

Good luck and let us know how it goes! :)

everythign silverblade said, except perhaps look a bit newer than a 9000 series?

the new ranges have higher bus speeds so can transfer data quicker.

Thanks for the Advise :)
I'll get 2 of the most Suped Up PC's $10,000AUD can get me proberbly gonna be a few weeks or a month before i have it all set up.
I currently Use:
Windows XP Media Center 2.16gig Ram Dual Core 3 hard drives  147gig 67gig and 70gig.
27inch Flat Sceen (I'm gonna sell the computer and keep the screen)
What Brand of PC should i get? my laptop was a Toshiba and Suckes ASS, i got my Desctop one from "Leading edge in Bairnsdale city" (an Acer Distributer)
living in a small contery town Succss Ass when it comes to getting Expensive hardware you have to drive 100km to order :)
the pc Was an Acer Aspire and was really dodgy when i first got it and had ist sent back for Reapairs becouse it was costom made (cost me around $4000AUD) got it 2-3 years ago.
the Aussie Dollar is holding up good i can get Vue Infinite for around $1400AUD (origonal 895US i think)

Personally I don't buy "brands," I have my local PC store build one to my spec with good quality components which is why both myself and sliverblade recommended the Antec gaming case.
I still think you should consider making it Raid 5 though, depends how important loss of data is to you, to me it's a no-no which is why I use raid on my PC's.

What exactly is raid? not to good when it comes to "Hardware" with computers.
is it possible to get 1TB of Ram? and 8 core?

could some please write a short list of Specs i should be looking for?
thanks
Zeke

Quote - What exactly is raid? not to good when it comes to "Hardware" with computers.
is it possible to get 1TB of Ram? and 8 core?

32GB is the max i believe, unless you want a rack server, in which case prepare to have an air conditioned warehouse purely for for RAM :P

You can have dual xenon processors to achieve 8 cores, but its quite a lot more expensive.  I think there may be some SUN microsystems processors that are more than 4 and maybe an IBM one too? not sure what the availiability is or if you would be building a server to use them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

• RAID 5 (striped disks with parity) combines three or more disks in a way that protects data against loss of any one disk; the storage capacity of the array is reduced by one disk.

If you set your computer up with a Raid 5 array for example you would need 3 HD's in the case. One part is mirrored so effectively you only see 2 HD's, the other is used just like a storage drive if you like. So you could use 2 X 500 Gig HD's for the mirrored drive and a 1 Tera for the storage drive or any other combination, the mirrired drives have to be the same size though.

Why I hear you ask!!   If the main drive goes down, all your OS, Files etc. are mirrord on the other drive so that drive can take over which gives you time to get the other one fixed. You get a message to say something's wrong with the drive so it can be sorted quickly.

The advantage of this is that you are unlikely to lose data due to a HD failure, I lost important client stuff a few years back due to a HD failure, I've had a Raid set up ever since, it won't happen again.
I still do backups to an XHD as well, just in case!

So I'm looking a pc with:
Dual Core xenon processors 1Terra Bite Rack Server Nvidia 9000 series Graphics Card Raid 5
Windows XP (Vista is Really Dogey)
whats the best Video/sound cards i can get?

thanks
Zeke

Antec 1200

Intel Nehalem i7 940 S1366 2.93GHz I would alwyas go Intel over AMD

Asus S1366 Intel X58 ATX A L  -Has max 24GB supported RAM - plus asus are great, look, feel and work great.

Named Memory, like Corsiar, Crucial etc, im a fan of corsair - Tri Channel, not sure where you will find 24GB to go in 6 slots though, thats a mystery for you.

minimum 800w PSU, id go with corsair on this one too, if not at least branded.

Hdd is your choice, but again branded, id personally avoid seagate.

By all means though you should research each part thoroughly, i.e. read reviews on net, check out specs, etc etc if in doubt ask and someone here will know

Edit - forgot gfx card! doh! - Id take a newish, not the newest as the price hike is ridiculous on new cards, GTX290, 285 or 280?  althought the 295 is 1.5GB RAM...   I would always take Nvidia over ATI

If you take XP though you will find yourself either without MS support or paying for it since windows 7 release is imminent - August 2009 we hear?

I'll Just Up-grade when it comes out.

I wish i had as much cash as you :P

Zeke,
I'd strongly advise against Xeons, it's...not something  you should mess with if you don't know what you're doing! :)

Stick to normal PCs, Xeons are special, they use two CPUs on the same motherboard and this adds vastly to both price and troubles you may have.
Trouble = bad, if yer not a technical guru.

Go with the PC designs I suggest, and have them built to order, by a reputable company in Australia, and shipped ot you. I know of such companies in the UK, but not Australia I'm afraid.

Do not build it yourself, WAY too much hassle and likelyhood of screwing up if you aren't used ot it.

Not something you want some nitwit to screw up (plenty of folk SAY they can build PCs, but doing it reliably as a commercial concern is another matter), nor do you want to send a LOT of money to a company who maybe fraudsters and disappear with your money, etc.

It's important to pay by credit card, so if you DO get ripped off, you have protection.
Though what I o is, I know a locla reputbale company, I put a small deposit down, and pay cahs on dleivery (and I check what's inside is what I actually ordered!)

You could ask around about reputable PC buidling companies in Australia, I'm sure such exist in Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne, I don't know about the North and West coast.

Try asking on the Poser forums here in Renderosity about a suitable company, or maybe some Australian forum/group who'd know??
I saw a company in England specializing in exactly this kind of thing, by the way, for UK folks.

Hm, does Dell or the like sell in Australia and offer a suitable rig, I wonder?
I preffer custom builds as stated above, but you have to find a suitable builder ot make them for you, otherwise, stick to Dell or similar company as they are large, and while they won't have exactly the same stuff a cusotm build can give you, you are going ot get reliability and customer security!

So, your options are:

a) Find a good, reliable, trusted PC buidler in Austrlia who cna ship to you.

b) Look at Dell or similar company who's PCs could be suitable, if not as ideal.

You cna post and ask about PCs you see Dell etc having, and what we think of them :)

I'd still suggest a good local PC store if your're confident they know how to build a good rig. I'm fortunate it that there is a bloody good PC store with guys who know what they're doing just a couple of miles away, wouldn't have a PC any other way now!

As for Dell, wouldn't touch them, over priced, they wanted another £1000 for the rig my local guys built for me and from what I've been told poor customer service although that is just what I've heard plus all the hassle of RTB warranties that could cost an arm and a leg because you have to insure it while it's being sent back [£60+ each time].
You need to factor all this in to any decision!

Acer dose Custome Built Pc's in Australia. would they be Good Quality Machines?

Just went to Dell Australia, good grief, are they WAY over priced or is the Austrlian dollar low?!! ACK!!

ok went to this other site and had one built up, for nearly $4000 dollars
http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwaveAU/system.asp?CartID=mAU@P2B21W97MCJNKS45KLR7UFPDHTZSEBC9ZPLPBTJUWYSBUG&sysID=11#

Mwave Custom Computer System

• 16010584 X 1 - Antec Twelve Hundred Full Tower Gaming Case

• 19010161 X 1 - Intel Core i7 920 CPU

• 28022982 X 1 - ASUS P6T WS Professional Motherboard, LGA1366, Intel X58, Triple DDR3 1600

• 37140204 X 1 - Patriot Viper PVT36G1600LLK 6GB (3x 2GB) Memory (that's 6 gigs but you cna get it up to 12, if wish, 6 should be fine, 12 is VERY expensive )

• 42050073 X 1 - Palit GeForce GTX 275

• 22040278 X 1 - Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB HDD

• 22040155 X 1 - Samsung SpinPoint F1 DT HD103UJ 1TB (2nd hard drive)

• 17040222 X 1 - LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray Burner, HD-DVD-ROM

• 34040395 X 1 - Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W Power Supply

• 39090126 X 1 - Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1, OEM

• 27020929 X 1 - Samsung 23" 2333SW Widescreen LCD Monitor

• 24020161 X 1 - Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

• 24030489 X 1 - Razer Salmosa High Infrared Precision Gaming Mouse

• 41060005 X 1 - Logitech X-230 6wX2+20w, 3-Pieces

• 61050003 X 1 - United Electrical Onsite Total Care for Un-Branded / Built PC, 3 Year Warranty, Up to $3,000 (On Site warranty is damn helpful for your huge nation and expesnse of these systems)

Now, i don't know IF they are a good ocmpany, or not shrug but thats' rughly what you want ;)
http://www.mwave.com.au

good keyboard that :)

Acer does the ASPIRE M7720
http://www.acer.com.au/acer/product.do?link=oln85e.redirect&changedAlts=&CRC=600100215#wrAjaxHistory=0

though you may need ot buy more memory for it, It doesn't say what it comes with as satndard
I7 CPUs go in triplets, so it's 3, 6, 9 or 12 gigs
you want 6 or more.

I'll Get a Custom Made Acer.
I know Where there is a Acer Dealler Close so i can "Order in the shop"
rather then Email or phone.
Thanks a Lot guys I'll Post Specs and Stuff once i've got it All set up.

Thanks Again

Zeke.

I just want to put a little emphasis on the 64bit for your operating system. There is a speed issue involved and also I believe that 32 bit has a limit on the amount of RAM or processers it can recognize. You doh't want to buy a lot of cool tool and then not be able to actually make use of it.

Oh yeah, 64 bit is essential :) A vast improvement and required to use more than 2 gigs of RAM.

Go for a new Mac Pro with 2 i7 Nehalems. Run Bootcamp on an added HD with Vista Business 64 bit. I have a 2nd generation Xeon 8-core (the newer, 3rd generation Mac Pro with the 2 i7 Xeons, multithreads like 16 cores -- 8-cores + 8 Hyperthreaded, simulated cores).

I own several quad-core, a few dual-core (1st generation) PCs, and 4 laptops. This is my first Mac. It's the highest quality, most stable PC I've ever owned.  Just add your own memory and HD, as Apple charges a reasonable -- almost bargin price for the basic box, but charges an arm and a leg for upgrades -- which are very easy to do (just slide the HD in, just pull out the memory trays, and plug in the memory).

Also, Apple's mouse stinks, and the keyboard is almost solid aluminum, but has chiclet keys. The Mac OS is lovely, and I prefer it to Vista, but alas, Vue runs only 32-bit on the Mac! Hence the Bootcamp option. Per Consumer Reports, Acer ain't so hot in the reliability dept., and Apple is # 1.

Quality should count., and my Mac has that in spades!

Quote - I wish i had as much cash as you :P

10,000AUD here in the states comes out to a piddly $7,846 USD but more than enough to purchase a Super being render box. Fill 'er  with RAM mate fill 'er with RAM!
 

What about a couple of Aspire G7700's rigged up as a render falm?
http://www.acer.com.au/acer/product.do?link=oln85e.redirect&changedAlts=&CRC=600100215#wrAjaxHistory=0

firstly... please note that is nothing like the spec anyone suggested...

secondly that weighs 45kg.

Thirdly, do you really need triple SLI? why pay for 3 gfx cards when 1 will do?  If you have SLI you can only have one monitor.

Quote - Gday!

Gonna Get Vue7 Infinite soon! :)
I've got $10,000AUD to spend on getting a Godly PC To Render Animations FAST

Any onke Got Any Idea on Ram, Cpu prosessor (s) Hard drive I should be looking at getting to
Render Large Vue Scenes?

Thankz.

by the way Vue7 Infinite Imports poser Right? Don't need to get Vue xTream for the "intergration of programs.

Thankz.
:)

I would recommend with your post above to certainly check out the Mac Pro for your specific use.

1. The Mac Pro can run BOTH Windows 7 AND Mac OS in native mode now. Meaning you can duel boot. It is also the fastest right now with the latest Intel CPUs.

2. You will get the best of both worlds for all computer needs, like video editing, photos, etc.

3. For the apps you want to run outside the Mac OS in 64 bit, such as Adobe Photoshop CS4 or Vue 7, just duel boot. With the new "Snow Leopard" coming out it will allow you to read the Windows 7 OS just fine from "Boot Camp".

4. It is the best of both worlds for both Mac and PC plus don't forget you do NOT have to buy right now Windows 7 and can download the RC1 for FREE from Microsoft. That way you have both.

With that money I would HIGHLY recommend at least 12 GB RAM and look into something like a "Drobo". Not only will it give you data backup, but you can also netowork it like I do with their network add-on device and read/write with both Mac and PC file formats so you can duel boot without much to deal with at all in your work flow.

Best of luck and happy shopping.

Quote - Go for a new Mac Pro with 2 i7 Nehalems. Run Bootcamp on an added HD with Vista Business 64 bit. I have a 2nd generation Xeon 8-core (the newer, 3rd generation Mac Pro with the 2 i7 Xeons, multithreads like 16 cores -- 8-cores + 8 Hyperthreaded, simulated cores).

I own several quad-core, a few dual-core (1st generation) PCs, and 4 laptops. This is my first Mac. It's the highest quality, most stable PC I've ever owned.  Just add your own memory and HD, as Apple charges a reasonable -- almost bargin price for the basic box, but charges an arm and a leg for upgrades -- which are very easy to do (just slide the HD in, just pull out the memory trays, and plug in the memory).

Also, Apple's mouse stinks, and the keyboard is almost solid aluminum, but has chiclet keys. The Mac OS is lovely, and I prefer it to Vista, but alas, Vue runs only 32-bit on the Mac! Hence the Bootcamp option. Per Consumer Reports, Acer ain't so hot in the reliability dept., and Apple is # 1.

Quality should count., and my Mac has that in spades!

I would agree. Also as I said in my last post, don't forget that Microsoft will give you Windows 7 RC 1 for FREE right now and it's good until next year. I'm running it just fine with my Mac Pro and "Boot Camp" and it is stable so far. :)

Sorry, two PCs are better than one MAC...
renders Evil Bill Gates ot shield him from the MAC lovers :p